I'm in the process of getting a nice fixed gear/single speed bike built up for me by Gene at www.spicercycles.com
Here is an overview of the bike:
Frameset:
aluminum fixed gear road frame spicercycles.com256 large.jpgOpen ↗
Kinesis Carbon fork 2
Wheelset:
Alex R390 rims
Surly 'New' flip-flop rear hub
Shimano Dura Ace front hub
Kenda Kontender tires
Drive group:
Surly 15T track cog
ACS 17T freewheel
Shimano 105 crankset, double rings replaced with a single 48T chainring
Shimano bottom bracket
Wellgo pedals with clips/straps
Components:
Ritchey Logic handlebars and stem
Selcof CNC headset
Suntour GPX brakeset and levers
Kalloy Uno seatpost
Brooks leather saddle
Sigma Sport computer
The problem is that Gene emailed me today saying that he accidentally made the frame without a rear brake bridge or cable guides, and right now there is just a tube connecting the seat stays. This means that I cannot put a rear brake on the frame as it is, and due to the painting of the bike (it required 3 different types of powder coatings), it would be faster to build and paint a new frame than to weld a new brake bridge to the existing one, sand it down and repaint.
I know that fixed gear bikes don't really require a rear brake, and I probably wouldn't use a rear brake when riding fixed, but I set my rear wheel up so that I can flip it over and use it as a freewheel as well. I'm not sure how safe it is to ride on a freewheel with only a front brake, but there is definitely no harm in having both.
So my question is, is there any easy way to modify this situation so that I can use a rear brake? If I took the frame as it is, I might get a discount or some free stuff, but I would have an extra brake and brake lever I already paid for lying around. If he built a new frame and had it painted it would probably take a couple of weeks, and I have already been waiting a really long time for this bike (plus the end of the riding season in Toronto is in sight).